Are you looking to advertise your rented property to tenants for the first time, or are you looking to reach out to new potential prospects? If so, you’ll need to ensure that tenants have relevant and correct references before you go ahead with anything. This is a crucial process that can be almost too easy to forget about when signing up new tenants.
It can be all-too-tempting to take on the first tenants that show interest in your property, without first performing the necessary processes. This is especially common with first-time landlords who are eager to start seeing some monthly revenue from their property or have no prior experience in interviewing tenants. However, you need to be a little more cautious when taking on new tenants.
For both your sakes and to keep in line with the local law, you’ll need to ensure that your tenants can provide reliable and useful tenant references. This will ensure that you are accepting tenants with a genuine interest in renting your property and treating it well during their time.
If you aren’t sure about tenant references and you need some more information, Open House are here to help. With years of experience in the rental industry, we can inform landlords on some of the most reliable and useful tenant references to ask for and look out for when advertising their properties.
What are Tenant References?
Private landlords and estate agents in Leicester need to think about two things: whether their tenants are able to pay their rent every month and if they are suitable for the property. To be able to do this, they can request tenant references from potential renters.
Similar to the kind of references you’d ask for at a job interview, tenant references refer to a series of checks into the tenant’s backgrounds. These checks include tenant providing some of their personal details to private landlords to prove their reliability and identity.
Without these references, landlords may have the right to decline potential tenants. This also applies to tenant references that highlight any issues with the potential tenants, such as failure to pay rent on multiple occasions or a history of bad relationships with previous landlords.
What are the Essential Tenant References?
Before you ask potential tenants for their references in their tenant interviews, its first important to know the essential tenant references to be looking out for. To make things easier, we’ve compiled a list of the essential tenant references you should be asking to see. The top 5 references are:
- Credit checks – this will provide both private landlords and estate agents in Leicester with detailed information about the tenant’s credit profile. You’ll need to look out for certain things such as poor credit history, court judgements, bankruptcies and unresolved debts.
- Income reference – this reference will give you a clear idea of the tenant’s income and if they will be able to afford with the upkeep of monthly rental fees. In this reference, you will be able to see details of their employment as well as a character reference from their current employer.
- Landlord reference – perhaps the most insightful reference is the landlord reference. This refers to a reference given by the tenants previous landlord, outlining their suitability as a tenant. You’ll be able to see if they paid rent consistently and if the property was left in good condition after their rental period ended.
- Proof of identity and right to rent – landlords and estate agents in Leicester will need to see information such as photo ID including driving licences and passports. To see if a tenant has the right to rent, you may also need to ask to see their immigration documents.
- Guarantors – if, as a private landlord, you have any concerns about your tenant meeting payment deadlines but they seem like a great tenant, you can ask them to find a guarantor. This is someone who will agree to pay the rent or cover damage to the property if the tenant cannot pay.
Why are They so Important
With the demand for rented accommodation showing no sign of slowing down, it’s important that landlords and estate agents in Leicester are following proper procedures. If you do not carry out a tenant interview and ask for tenant references, you could be faced with a problem tenant that will cause you ongoing issues.
If you ensure you check your tenant’s references before going ahead, you can create a positive and seamless landlord-tenant relationship from the get-go. This will make both your lives easier and may even result in tenant returning to you again and again, ultimately increasing your revenue.
Failure to undertake a Right to Rent interview with a tenant may result in a fine or even a jail term so it’s important that you conduct these interviews thoroughly and check through all your tenant’s references.
Make sure you interview every kind of tenant that shows interest in your rental property. All adult tenants aged 18 or over must be named on the tenancy agreement and if they are contributing to a share of the rent, they must also go through the same checks and referencing process.
Contact us for More Information Today
Are you still unsure about tenant references or how to successfully let your property in the Leicester area? If so, get in touch with us today. Open House are leading estate agents in Leicester with years of experience in the letting market.
We can advise landlords on the proper process for letting out their rental property, including the process for tenant referencing, to ensure they have a seamless landlord experience from start to finish.
